Lightning flashed, the spear tip tracing afterimages.
Several trees were sliced apart, and immediately after, the remaining stumps twisted into giant flowers, reverted to buds, became flower buds, and then condensed into a single point… before exploding.
It scattered tremendous destruction, engulfing the surrounding trees, but by that time, I was already far away and wasn’t greatly affected.
Chaos’s area attacks, which no longer cared about self-inflicted damage, were all meaningless.
One reason was that they couldn’t keep up with my 〖Cloud Camouflage〗 speed.
The other was a fundamental lack of power.
“(The God also said it, that even at that point, I wouldn’t have lost if we fought.)”
I recalled my communication with the Star God.
At that time, I was told that while I wouldn’t lose, I couldn’t win either, so I should accumulate power.
Only a week has passed since then.
I’ve done my best, and in fact, thanks to the 【Unique Skill】’s 【True Evolution】, I’ve become able to inflict damage.
However—,
“(—I can’t see an end to this.)”
Currently, I’m mimicking four Ancient Spears.
I wield them freely, making full use of 〖Storm Strike〗 and 〖Combat Dance〗 to cut down Chaos.
But even so, there’s hardly any progress.
Rather, Chaos is getting closer to the sea than when the battle started.
I knew it, but chipping away with just the Ancient Spears won’t cut it.
『”Demon Lord”! Get ready, I’m going to do it!』
『Leave it to me』
Through the battles so far, I’ve confirmed that Chaos doesn’t have particularly outstanding regeneration abilities.
Like a plant Demon Beast 〖King Beast〗, normal wounds close quickly, but it doesn’t seem to have abilities like ‘recovery’.
Therefore, I conveyed the signal via 〖Telepathy〗 and reduced the number of Ancient Spears to two.
Considering what I’m about to do, I don’t have the leeway to wield four.
“(Here I come, Chaos!)”
“…………”
I leaped to dodge the root spear that emerged from the ground, and then flew diagonally upwards.
While scattering lightning strikes to materialize Chaos, I soared through the sky, cutting down the approaching branches and vines.
The closer I get to the center of Chaos, the easier it is to target, but the number of intercepting branches and vines also increases dramatically.
While dodging them and endlessly gaining altitude, I drop lightning strikes whenever I see an opening.
I try to materialize as much volume as possible over a wide area.
Chaos isn’t just being materialized either.
It’s using the power of 〖Chaos〗 to try and return the parts that I’ve caught to an amorphous state.
However, my speed of defining shapes is faster.
It’s like Chaos’s way of using power is crude. It’s like it can’t control its excessive energy.
Is it a side effect of growing beyond its limits?
It can scatter its power roughly, like overturning a fish tank, but it’s completely unskilled at fine control, like creating a water cutter by maximizing water pressure.
It takes time to undo the solidified materialized parts.
“(Oh, that’s the edge of Chaos!)”
I continued to ascend, even after passing through the clouds, and when I turned my attention to the ground, I could see the entire form of Chaos.
It was gathering and stacking its spread-out body beneath me, probably to reach me with its branches high in the sky.
Its appearance is similar to the Great Forest Sea, but its essence might be closer to mud.
When I attacked without defining its shape, it felt like a viscous substance.
“(This height should be enough.)”
『My preparations are complete. You can go anytime.』
From the deep blue sky, the “Demon Lord” contacted me.
A little later, Ginrei and the others caught up.
『Perfect timing, then let’s get started!』
『〖Order Alteration〗, you shall not receive the wind, you shall be drawn to the earth.』
The gravity acting on me increased.
I couldn’t fully convey the concept of gravity, so to be precise, I’m just being pulled additionally, but let’s not worry about the details.
“(〖Super Leap〗)”
I took in one of Ginrei’s, and began to fall at the speed of a lightning strike.
I tore through the branches of Chaos that were trying to catch me with the Ancient Spear, and accelerated rapidly with the effects of the Artifact and the 〖Staff of the Gods〗.
Soon, I exceeded the speed of sound, but there was no air resistance. It was thanks to the “Demon Lord’s” magic.
I was too fast for Chaos’s branches to intercept, and once I accelerated this much, I could push through with just speed, 〖Blast Dash〗, and the effects of the 〖Staff of the Gods〗.
The ground rapidly approached.
There, Chaos had folded its trees and piled up its body like a mountain, taking a defensive stance.
It was probably trying to mitigate the force of my fall, by folding its body, which had been transformed into hard thorns, countless times, and filling the gaps with branches and trunks as cushioning material.
Given its mountain-class size, it might be able to reduce the impact by half, even if it can’t stop me.
“(Shape Definition!)”
But, regardless of that, I unleash a barrage of lightning strikes.
By using it repeatedly, my shape definition power has also grown, and I can now materialize a considerable area with a single strike.
Meanwhile, the distance closed in an instant due to my extraordinary speed,
“〖Area Hole〗!”
“(〖Territory〗 Release!)”
And once again, I was returned to the sky.
“(〖Stealth〗, 〖Super Leap〗!)”
My speed remained the same as just before the collision. On top of that, I kicked off the air and accelerated even further.
I didn’t forget to erase my presence with 〖Skills〗.
『〖Order Alteration〗, you shall transmit light.』
The “Demon Lord” made me transparent. Chaos had lost sight of me, who had been teleported, and seemed confused about whether to release its defense.
It’s going according to plan.
The meteor attack from above, which was the decisive blow against the first Chaos Spawn I encountered.
The destructive power is guaranteed, but the problem with this technique is that the time lag before activation is too large.
Even if it can’t evade due to its massive size, there was a high possibility that it would defend.
That’s why I asked Paula for cooperation.
I had her open a hole and teleport me before the collision, and then I would exploit the opponent’s opening while accelerating.
This time, the marker for the teleportation was Ginrei.
Ginrei had moved slightly from the initial drop point, which allowed me to attack a slightly different location than where it had solidified its defenses.
“(〖Replicant Form〗!)”
Since I was already accelerating sufficiently, I closed in within a few moments.
The instant I landed at what could be called the mountainside, I activated multiple 〖Skills〗.
“(〖Assassination〗, 〖Staff of the Gods〗, 〖Quake Swing〗!)”
The blow, released with powerful 〖Skills〗, was a downward swing with a hammer.
The weapon I used was an Ancient Hammer made by combining the claws and hammer tail of the “Ancient King”.
The special effect of the Ancient Hammer, which I adjusted for this decisive battle, was recovery inhibition and… earth blade transformation.
By slamming the head into the ground, I can generate countless rock blades.
“(—Uraaah!)”
A deafening roar split through my entire body.
The Ancient Hammer creaked from the impact, which was so great that even the 〖Staff of the Gods〗 couldn’t completely reflect it.
But that was proof of its unparalleled power. The impact, comparable to a giant meteorite falling, pierced through Chaos and shook the ground beneath it.
“…………”
Chaos’s massive body, which had solidified into a mountain range, scattered and burst apart.
Only a small part was directly hit, but even the aftershocks were that powerful.
Next, rock blades that sprang from the ground severed the remaining parts of Chaos’s body.
The rock blades, which filled the entire field of view, were attacking Chaos from the roots.
The scale and attack power of the rock blades generated by the Ancient Hammer are determined by the strength of the force striking the ground.
If the 〖Storm Strike〗 correction is added to that, even a 〖King Beast〗 can be easily cut apart.
“(Alright, the lag from teleportation to collision was short, and the shape-defined parts were definitely shattered! At this rate—)”
I gasped.
The amount of 〖Mana〗 that Chaos had was already astonishing, but now it began to surge all at once.
I know the true nature of the 〖Skill〗 that is created by refining this enormous 〖Mana〗.
“(〖Royal Authority Skill〗…!)”
The wounded Chaos had finally played its trump card.